Ottawa Festivals, is a member-based organization based in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario Canada, dedicated to supporting and promoting the festival industry in the region. Established in 1996, the organization comprises 53 festivals that showcase a diverse range of cultures, arts, and entertainment to the local community.

History

The roots of Ottawa Festivals trace back to the summer of 1994 when four distinct festivals—Ottawa Bluesfest, CKCU Ottawa Folk Festival, Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, and Fete Caribe—emerged with a shared objective of celebrating and sharing various artistic expressions with the community. Recognizing the potential for collaboration and mutual support, these organizations came together to exchange ideas and experiences. In response to growing public interest in these new festivals, the president of Ottawa Tourism Commission Authority (OTCA) called a meeting in the fall of 1994. The purpose was to establish a communication channel between the festivals and OTCA. During this meeting, it became evident that the festivals shared common interests and a desire to coordinate tourism information and enhance their individual events. As a result, the Ottawa Festival Network was formed, with an initial board comprising prominent figures such as Mark Monahan (Ottawa Bluesfest), Michel Gauthier (Canadian Tulip Festival), Gene Swimmer (Ottawa Folk Festival), and Christine Broughton (OTCA). This initial group laid the foundation for the network's growth and its collaborations with organizations like the Canadian Tourism Commission, City of Ottawa, and Human Resource Development Canada. In April 1996, the Ottawa Festival Network officially became an incorporated entity, representing a diverse group of not-for-profit member festivals that celebrated various cultures, arts, and entertainment. A significant milestone came in April 2006 when the network commemorated its 10th Anniversary with the "Launch of the Festival Season" event. This occasion celebrated Ottawa's vibrant festival industry, which had made a substantial contribution to the region's art, culture, and entertainment scene over the past decade. The event introduced a new official name, Ottawa Festivals d'Ottawa, along with a refreshed logo, a 10th-anniversary brochure, and an updated website. It highlighted the industry's growth, its positive impact on local tourism and the economy. Before the establishment of Ottawa Festivals, the National Capital Region Festival Network was formed in 1986 as the first collaborative effort by festivals in the area. At that time, festivals were not formally recognized by th
City of Ottawa
as a means of economic development and tourism promotion. The group, consisting of organizers from various festivals, worked together to advocate for the recognition of festivals as more than just community recreation. With the support of the Culture Division of the City of Ottawa, they developed criteria and established a festival program that allowed festivals to apply for annual funding. Through its dedicated efforts, Ottawa Festivals has played a vital role in fostering collaboration among festivals, promoting the region's cultural diversity, and harnessing the economic potential of the festival industry.

Festival members

* Winterlude * Ottawa Irish Festival * Maple Sugar Festival *

Ottawa International Writers Festival The Ottawa International Writers Festival is a literary festival which takes place twice annually, in spring and fall, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The festival was founded in 1997 by Irish-born Neil Wilson as, according to Wilson, "an excuse to b ...

- Spring Edition * Victoria Day Festival * Canadian Tulip Festival * Ottawa International Children's Festival * Ottawa Marathon *

Carnival of Cultures The Carnival of Cultures, also known as Ottawa's International Folkloric Festival, consists of cultural performances, featuring music, song and dance from around the world. It is usually located at the Marion Dewar Plaza in Ottawa. The festival ...

* Canada Dance Festival * Magnetic North Theatre Festival * Italian Week * Westfest *

Festival Franco Ontarien A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...

Ottawa Fringe Festival The Ottawa Fringe Festival is an annual fringe theatre festival in Ottawa. The festival was inaugurated in 1997. The festival takes place for ten days each June. Performances are held indoors and out. Performance spaces Performances all take pla ...

* Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival * Summer Solstice Aboriginal Arts Festival * TD Canada Trust Ottawa International Jazz Festival *

Canada Day Arts Festival Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world ...

* Unisong Canadian Choir Festival *

Canada Day Canada Day (french: Fête du Canada), formerly known as Dominion Day (french: Fête du Dominion), is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 18 ...

* Ottawa Bluesfest * Sound and Light Show on Parliament Hill/ Son et lumière * HOPE Volleyball Summerfest * The Great India Festival (formerly, Festival of India) * Ottawa Turkish Festival *

Orchestras in the Park An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, cel ...

* Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival * Ottawa Lumière Festival * Navan Fair * Ottawa Greekfest * Ottawa Folk Festival * SuperEx *

Ottawa Reggae Festival The Ottawa Reggae Festival was a volunteer driven music festival held annually from 2008 to 2010 at Le Breton Flats Park, Ottawa. The festival was cancelled in 2010, its third year due to the financial troubles of the festival's president, Benjam ...

* Capital Pride * Capital Vélo Fest * Richmond Fair *

Carp Fair Carp are various species of oily fish, oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in ...

* Metcalfe Fair * Fall Rhapsody * Ontario Council of Folk Festivals Conference * Ottawa International Animation Festival *

- Fall Edition * Lebanorama * Ottawa Storytelling Festival * Canadian Folk Music Awards * 3i Summit: Imagine - Interact - Inspire * Christmas Lights Across Canada * Festival X *

Music and Beyond Music and Beyond is a Canadian summer music festival, featuring classical music in its varying formations (orchestras, choirs, bands, baroque groups and small Musical ensemble, ensembles) as well as a spectrum of art forms and cultural disciplines ...

* South Asian Festival * Summer Fling – A Theatrical Affair! *

Latin Sparks Festival Latin Sparks Festival is Canada’s largest Latin dance party that occurs annually in Ottawa, Ontario and Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2018, over 3,000 people attended the festival in each city for one night of dancing. Latin Sparks Festiva ...

References

2. http://www.ottawafestivals.ca/ottawa-411/ 3. http://www.ottawafestivals.ca/ottawa-411/other-things-to-do/

External links

* Ottawa Festival

{{Ottawa landmarks Organizations based in Ottawa, Festivals Arts organizations established in 1996 Festival organizations